Connecticut DEEP outlines integrated planning, procurements and energy‑efficiency push

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes told legislators that DEEP will launch a new integrated resource planning process within days and will continue procurements to meet reliability, decarbonization and affordability goals.

"We have responsibility to conduct an integrated resources plan for the state," Commissioner Dykes said, describing a 10‑year planning cycle that integrates stakeholder input. She said DEEP will immediately begin the next integrated resource plan (IRP) process and share the scope with the committee and stakeholders.

DEEP described three central program areas: policy and analysis (including regional engagement with ISO New England and NEPOOL), administration of state programs (energy efficiency, weatherization, solar programs, and grant administration for federal funds), and competitive procurement and deployment (long‑term contracts and grid resilience procurements).

Dykes said the agency has supported procurements aimed at preserving reliability that the ISO markets did not attract on their own — for example, contracts related to the Millstone nuclear facility and to peaking plants needed for winter reliability. DEEP announced a recent competitive procurement for 200 megawatts of energy storage and noted prior procurements for natural‑gas pipeline and LNG capacity to shore up winter fuel delivery.

On demand reduction, Dykes emphasized energy efficiency and heat‑pump deployment. "Energy efficiency is the cheapest source of power," she said, and DEEP will run a procurement (under authority granted by the legislature) to attract third‑party providers and to expand participation, including commercial and industrial customers. She described proposals to blend incentives, on‑bill repayment and third‑party navigation to increase uptake and address workforce and financing barriers.

Commissioner Dykes also described Connecticut’s successful Climate Pollution Reduction Grant award; the state led a regional proposal that the EPA awarded roughly $450 million, with about $100 million slated for Connecticut. DEEP said it is monitoring changes at the federal level that could affect deployment of federal funds, and coordinating with the attorney general’s office on legal protections if federal administrative actions disrupt those programs.

On offshore wind and Canadian imports, Dykes said the state remains interested in offshore wind as a winter‑season resource, but is monitoring federal actions and continuing to pursue onshore wind and transmission options that may access northern Maine wind and Canadian hydro. She noted an estimated need to replace roughly 5,000 megawatts of oil‑fired winter capacity and said ISO analysis suggests several gigawatts of offshore wind could help provide winter reliability, but that gaps remain.

Why it matters: DEEP frames state policy as a complement to regional markets: when markets do not produce the resource mix states need for reliability and decarbonization, the state may run competitive procurements and deploy public funds to secure it. Energy efficiency and targeted heat‑pump programs are core near‑term tools to lower bills and reduce peak demand.

DEEP said it will share formal written materials and expects to engage the committee and stakeholders throughout the IRP and procurement processes.